Tobacco-cutter.



No. 70|,974. Patented 1m l0, I902.

I W. W. WATSON.

TOBACCO CUTTER.

(Application filed Feb. 27, 1902. I (No Model.)

mi a'l'l x In UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. WATSON; OF ADA, MINNESOTA.

TOBACCO-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 701,974, dated. 111110, 1902.

Application filed February 2'7, 1902. Serial No, 95,921., (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. WATSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ada, in the county of Norman and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-CleaningTobacco-Outters; and I do declare the following" to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference.

marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to tobacco-cutters, and contemplates theproduction of an improved appliance of this character constructed incabinet form or adapted for attachment to'existing counters or tablesand arranged to be operated by foot-power to cut plugtobacco and thelike.

The improvement has for its object simplicity of construction,efficiency in operation, and durability; and a further object is theprovision of means for renderingthe knife self-cleaning, wherebyabsolute cleanliness is at all times secured.

The nature of the improvement will be readily comprehended, referencebeing had to the following detailed description and to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a tobaccocutterembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line 2 2of Fig. 3, the knife being. lowered. 'Fig. 3 is avertical sectionalviewon line 33 of Fig. 2, the knife being raised. Fig.' 4= is a detailplan view of the knife and table. Fig. 5 is a. detail'view showing themeans for lowered position. I, r

Referring to the drawings by letter, A denotes a support, which may bethe counter of a retail store, but which, preferably, is a cabi-' nethaving a table a and sides a, a In the table is a slot a and bis a metalplate fitting a recess in the table-top to be flush therewith and havinga slot registering with the tableslot a O designates the knife, havingalower cutting edge 0 and fixed at its sides to vertical rods d d, whichare slidable in the side pieces of a drawer-frame e, secured to theunder side locking the knife in .of a spring k, connected to theleveran'd to a hook or staple on the under side of the table. The springelevates the knife to thecutting position, (shown in Fig.3 and indicatedin Fig. 1,) the limit of movement being fixed by the bar g, which actsas a stop by engaging the underside of the drawer-frame. The loweredposition of the knife (shown in Fig. 2 and indicated in Fig. 3) ismaintained by the engagement of the foot-lever with an offset a in theslot a, this being accomplished. by a slight lateral movement-of the'foot-lever when it is fully depressed; In its lowered position the top'of the knife is flush with the top of the table, leaving the latterunencumbered.

Pivoted to the under side of the table by means of rods Z Z are scrapersm m, which are normally raised to extend across the slot a by the actionof springs n 'n.

The knife in its downward movement enters a pan 0, which is slidablyarranged in the frame e. p The pan is of water-tightconwherebyl thetobaccowhich adheres to the' sides of the knife in thecutting operationis loosened. In thedownward movementof the knife the scrapers areengaged and pressed downwardlyto the position shown in Fig. 2 andindicated in Fig. 3, and in the return movement of the knife thescrapers actup on its sides'to' clean them of the adhering tobacco,which has been loosened by the contact with the water in the pan. Thusthe knife is at all times kept perfectly'clean, and

the cleaning being accomplished automatically no attention further thanto renew the water from time to timeis required. f Obviouslyv the knifeis immer'sedin the'waterdub ing the time itis not in use.

In practice the cutting movement of the knife and the lockingandreleasing thereof struction and in practice isfilled with'water, I

are accomplished by the foot of the operator, and his hands are leftfree to handle the tobacco.

The cutter may be easily applied to any cabinet, counter, or table, and,as before stated, when it is not in use it is below the table and out ofthe way of business which does not require its use. The constructionemployed is simple, the parts are few in numher and easily assembled,and the appliance may be inexpensively produced and set up by personsnot particularly skilled in the art.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of a slotted table, aremovable water-receptacle beneath the same, a knife vertically movablein the slot, to enter the receptacle, a spring for elevating the knifeabove the table, scraper-blades in the path of the knife arranged to bemoved by the knife in its downward movement to enter the receptacle, afoot-lever connected with the knife to lower it, and means for lockingthe foot-lever when depressed to maintain the lowered position of theknife and scraperblades.

2. The combination of a slotted table, a slidably-removablewater-receptacle beneath the same, a knife vertically movable in theslot to enter the receptacle, a spring for elevating the knife above thetable, scraperblades in the path of the knife arranged to be moved bythe knife in its downward movement to enter the receptacle, an uprighthaving a slot provided with an offset, a foot-lever connected with theknife to lower it and the scraper-blades said foot-lever moving in theupright slot and engaging the offset to lock the depressed knife andscraper-blades.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM W. WATSON.

\Vi tn esses A. G. GRAY, A. D. GRAY, Jr.

